Children of Blackthorn
by Kaeghlighn
Summary: Name: Tanis, Species: Human, Gender: Female, Type: Ace Trainer, Nature: Rash, Ability: Grudge/Run Away, Moveset: Doubleslap/Charm/Flail/Glare. Seeing Lance was nostalgic. T for Tanis, because her mouth is sometimes rather dirty.
1. Prologue

**Children of Blackthorn**

**Prologue**

It had been years since the last time the two had met up. Tanis was surprised to see him, actually. Seeing Lance was…nostalgic. They had grown up together high up in Blackthorn City as neighbors and friends. Tanis remembered that they used to hang out together with his younger cousin. As residents of Blackthorn City, they were well acquainted with dragon Pokémon. Tanis's brother had given her a Dratini egg when she was little. She could just barely recall Lance's jealous face. He didn't get a dragon Pokémon until a couple of years after Tanis, but when he did, his affinity for the type was obvious.

"Lance?" The red-haired dragon master's eyes widened, and then he smiled. Tanis almost smiled back at the expression, but then she remembered where she was and **why she left**. Tanis's sharp green eyes narrowed into a glare. "What the fuck are you doing here, **Lance**?" she spat out his name like it left a bad taste in her mouth, and in truth, it kind of did.

Lance's smile fell into a serious expression. He, too, remembered, and regretted the event. "Tanis, I – " His eyes fell. The look on her face was so unlike her, so unlike the girl he remembered. This wasn't the Tanis that he had once made and given a – Wait. Around her left wrist; it was a bracelet. The red colour stood out against her clothes, a black top, gray skirt, and even lighter gray jeans. Lance distinctly remembered painstakingly braiding that bracelet just so that he could give it to her for her birthday one year. He had told her that it was red so that she would always remember him. It took Lance a moment and his eyebrows furrowing before he spoke again. He almost smiled as he asked, "You still have that?" He pointed at the bracelet.

Tanis knew exactly what he was talking about, but she feigned ignorance. She just sneered at the man who had, at one point, been the object of her silent affections, and pulled her blue-shaded goggles down from sitting on top of her head to over her eyes. She turned swiftly away from him and proceeded to release one of her Pokémon from his Pokéball. "Alexander!" she addressed the golden Pidgeot. "We're flying out of here," she told him as she situated herself on his back.

Without another word from Tanis Alexander took off into the air.

"Wait! Tanis!" Lance called after his childhood friend. It was too late. Tanis and Alexander were quickly becoming a mere golden spot against the clouds. After a few seconds of deliberation Lance let out his most trusted Dragonite and flew after the black-haired young woman. He would follow her and work through this…grudge she held against him. He wanted his friend back. He missed her dearly.


	2. Chapter One

**Children of Blackthorn**

**Chapter One**

Tanis had never quite seen anything like it, though she had heard rumors that there were Pokémon that were coloured differently from most of their species, but when she spotted that yellow-green shaded Pidgey just outside of Violet City, she knew that she wanted to catch it. The only problem was that someone else was in the middle of trying to do just that. But they were obviously either inexperienced regarding Pokémon or they were just plain cruel.

She had to bite her tongue and dig her nails into her palms to keep from storming over and teaching the boy a lesson he wouldn't soon forget. Had the boy been older than he was she would be on him already. _He was young and stupid._

"Worthless piece of crap."

Tanis sucked in a breath and clenched her eyes shut.

"Stupid thing fainted."

She heard his footsteps as he started walking away, the sound fading. When she could no longer hear him tromping through the tall grass and muttering to himself she snapped her eyes open.

_She had to force her fists to unclench at the sight; blood seeping from every injury._ Feathers were strewn about the grass.

"_Oh, god," she moaned, as if his pain was hers. She approached quickly and knelt beside him, her hands hesitating to touch._ She scooped the heavily injured Pidgey into her arms gingerly, wincing when he let out a soft, pained squawk. _"Don't die. For the love of god, don't die."_

_And then she was running._

"NURSE JOY!" she shouted frantically, her sight blurred by tears.

"_Oh, dear! What happened?"_

"Some **idiot** happened," Tanis spat angrily, her voice cracking. "He's wild, but he's severely injured, and I-I—"

"Chansey!" the local Nurse called to her trusted healing Pokémon. "We have our work cut out for us today!" The urgency in Nurse Joy's voice registered in the Chansey's mind and she hurried to bring out a gurney.

The pink pair took the yellow-green Pidgey from Tanis, and _all she could see was the red "Operating" sign._ She sat for a very long time, her eyes glued up above the doors to the operating room. She hated this. It was too familiar. Hours seemed to pass in a painstakingly slow manner, largely uninterrupted as Tanis sat, then started fidgeting and resorted to pacing, then sitting again. Finally she stopped staring at the illuminated sign. Her head hung in her hands, her elbows propped up on her knees. She'd done this before, and it had been heart wrenching to sit there, unknowing and worried out of her mind. It was the same today.

Tanis didn't hear the murmuring coming from the Center's lobby, and she barely paid any attention to the footsteps that softly headed her way. The seat beside her shifted as the person sat, his hands clasped and his elbows on his knees. There was silence as he thought of what to say. "I heard that you… came in here with a strangely coloured Pidgey."

She swallowed thickly, her throat dry. "I did," she croaked, not looking up. Years ago, she'd felt this way.

"I…" the young man beside her sighed, not sure what to say; he didn't want to upset her any more than she already was. "I've never… seen a shiny Pokémon before."

"'Shiny'?" she asked, just barely peeking over to see who was keeping her company. Years ago, it had been Zeus, her Dragonair, her precious first Pokémon that she had raised from an egg, on a similar gurney.

"Yeah," Falkner let his lips curve upward into a very small smile, "That's what we call differently coloured Pokémon; shiny." Tanis almost smiled, too, before she remembered that the shiny Pidgey was still in the operating room and a frown marred her face instead. The gym leader observed the girl for a while, his smile slipping away. He sighed and sat up straight, scratching the back of his head. "You're really lucky, you know?"

Tanis snorted.

"I mean it. You found a shiny Pokémon, and they're really rare. If… no," he shook his head as he corrected himself. "When that Pidgey comes out of there, I think you should keep it."

"I've thought about that…" Tanis sat up as well, though still slumped in her seat lethargically. "When I first saw him I wanted to catch him, but now I'm thinking that it would be best if I didn't keep him." She rubbed her red eyes. "He'd be better off with you, Falkner."

"You're kidding, right?" Falkner turned to look Tanis in the eye. "You were the one that made sure that he got here. He wasn't even yours and you took care of him the best way that you knew how."

Tanis scowled and avoided his gaze. "Can we stop the pep talk? I'm **really** not feeling it today." She really wasn't. As much as she hated this situation she didn't want his pity or his attempts to get her mind off of what she was dreading.

"Sorry, Tanis," Falkner looked down and away from the girl. "It's just…"

"Don't. Just don't."

He didn't heed her warning. "It's just that he asked me to look out for you; make sure you're okay and all that."

Tanis's eyes narrowed as she peered at the bird trainer. "'He' who?"

Falkner glanced at the suspicious and angry look on her face for a second before looking immediately away. "Lance. Lance called all the gym leaders and some others and asked us to keep an eye on you if you came by."

"Aaaarrrrghhhh! That **bastard**! Oh, he **would**, wouldn't he?" she raged, her hands balled into fists, her nails digging crescents into her palms. "He just can't **leave me alone**, can he? **God**!" She abruptly stood up and began pacing angrily. "Everything, **everything** comes back to **him**, doesn't it? I can't even step into a Pokémon Center without remembering what that rat-bastard did!"

Falkner followed her example and stood up. "Calm down!" he ordered, gripping her shoulders. "You're in a Pokémon Center, Tanis, and you can't throw tantrums like this!"

She looked about ready to jump down his throat in her rage, but she was interrupted.

_A soft ding alerted Tanis to the illuminated "Operating" sign going out. She looked to the doors, tenser than before. This was it; the moment of truth. Was he alive? After a few seconds that felt like far longer than they were passed, Nurse Joy and Chansey exited through the double doors. A sigh escaped the nurse's lips; either relieved or disappointed, Tanis couldn't tell._

"_He'll be just fine,"_ Nurse Joy said, smiling tiredly. "The Pidgey will heal, but right now, he needs lots of rest."

Tanis felt her knees go weak and she had to use Falkner to keep standing. _"Thank god."_

He, however, was not expecting the extra weight. "T-Tanis!"


	3. Chapter Two

**Children of Blackthorn**

**Chapter Two**

Violet City was relatively silent as Falkner walked with Tanis to the Pokémon Center to check up on the shiny Pidgey. The city's silence was far less awkward than the one between the two trainers. Tanis had insisted that she would be fine on her own, but Falkner had insisted on accompanying her. And so the two walked.

"I'm still mad at you," she finally mumbled, her hands deep in her coat pockets. The weather was getting colder, more toward winter.

"I thought you might be." Falkner sighed.

"…You didn't tell him, did you?"

"Tell who what?" Falkner had an idea who, but he wasn't sure about the what.

"Lllll—" Tanis was having trouble saying his name; the sounds got caught in her throat. Her upper lip curled. "You didn't tell that idiot that I was here, did you? You better not have."

"No," Falkner shook his head, "No, I didn't." The two arrived at the Pokémon Center and Tanis immediately went for the door and entered. Falkner waited inside, keeping his distance as Tanis conversed with Nurse Joy about the Pidgey's condition. Lance had been pretty vague when he called. He just told Falkner that he had called the other gym leaders and a select few others and asked him to look out for a black haired, green-eyed girl named Tanis with a Dragonair. Lance didn't say why or explain anything else. Didn't mention that she would be **angry** about it, either. Didn't mention that she would be **furious** at the redhead, or even just at the mention of his name. Tanis hadn't in any way come with a warning label, which, he supposed, made her interesting.

Falkner silently observed Tanis as she ran a hand anxiously over her hair and Nurse Joy gave her a placating smile. He found her attractive, no doubt about that, with her dark hair, bright eyes, and athletic figure. But he knew she wasn't the kind of girl he wanted in his life. Tanis was physically attractive, but she held so much hate within her. She made an interesting friend, though, he reasoned as the girl in consideration approached him once more.

"He's still healing." Falkner had to shake his head to refocus. "And he won't be able to leave the Center for a few more days." Tanis was much calmer now than she was before. "Guess you're stuck with me," she sighed in what seemed to Falkner to be a joking manner.

Falkner smiled just the littlest bit. "Shouldn't be that bad."

* * *

><p>"Thanks, Falkner."<p>

"For what?" He sounded genuinely confused.

Tanis rolled her eyes. She thought it should be obvious. "For letting me, y'know, hang out at your gym," she answered haltingly. "I just kind of don't feel like being… alone."

Falkner laughed. "You're not alone, Tanis."

"I know that. Shut up."

They lapsed into silence again.

"I've been thinking about what to name him."

A smirk quirked the gym leader's lips. "So you've decided to keep him?"

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" Tanis asked. "And, yes. I'm going to keep him. I was thinking about naming him Alexander; maybe call him Alex or something."

The quiet returned for a few more moments before Falkner interrupted it quietly. "You seem pretty attached already."

Tanis ran her hands over her hair, feeling a bit anxious. "How could I not be?"


End file.
